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Gruet Steakhouse – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoApril 21, 2005July 23, 20182:34 AM

Is there anything finer than a sizzling, flame kissed slab of prime beef overfilling your plate at a fine high-end chop house? Steak used to define fine dining and wealth provided the delineation between the type of steak each patron could afford–select, choice or prime, a classification based on marbling (the more the marbling, the more tender the steak). The proliferation of inexpensive steak restaurants in the 1960s made steak readily available to the common man while the advent of technology has made it available over the Internet and even in mall stores throughout America. The tragic reality is that…

Albuquerque Closed in 2008 Gone But Not Forgotten New Mexican

Casa Grande Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoMarch 26, 2005July 23, 20188:07 PM

Arizona’s Casa Grande Ruins National Monument is one of the largest and most mysterious prehistoric structures ever built in North America and serves as the most impressive remnant left by the Hohokam (those who are gone) culture. In many ways, Albuquerque’s Casa Grande restaurant may be a remnant, too–albeit, a remnant of restaurants which prepare unadulterated New Mexican food made to order with the realization that tourists really might want to try authentically piquant and seasoned food as the locals would prepare it. More than most restaurants in Albuquerque, particularly those in the Old Town area, Casa Grande does prepare…

American Closed in 2005 Rating: Outstanding

Nouveau Noodles – Cedar Crest, New Mexico

Gil GardunoMarch 2, 2005March 31, 20268:31 PM

In the west, it’s generally accepted that the human tongue can discern only four different tastes and that all tastes in the dining experience are combinations of those four: sweet, bitter, sour, and salty. By contrast, the Chinese have long believed that the human tongue possesses a fifth taste sensation–one that can detect pungent foods. Chinese postulate that each of the five taste sensations corresponds to one of nature’s five elements: water, fire, wood, metal, and earth. Dine at Nouveau Noodles and you’ll be convinced that there are at least five taste sensations and that they’re all present in each…

Albuquerque Closed in 2007 Spanish

Conrad’s – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoFebruary 23, 2005July 23, 20181:56 PM

There was a time when the name “Hilton” didn’t conjure up images of a ditzy blonde airhead whose celebrity is based largely on promiscuity. Well, maybe not. More than 50 years ago, another ditzy blonde, Zsa Zsa Gabor honeymooned at La Posada in Albuquerque with her then husband Conrad Hilton, a New Mexico native and founder of the historic downtown hotel in which Conrad’s is housed. Since the hotel’s launch in 1939, the guest registry at La Posada de Albuquerque has been signed by a veritable who’s who in celebrity and politics. Most come for the hotel’s Spanish colonial charm,…

Closed in 2007 Gone But Not Forgotten New Mexican New Mexico

Chilepeños – Sandia Park, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoFebruary 21, 2005July 23, 201812:50 PM

How many of us are old enough to remember the amusement park test of strength in which testosterone laden men slam an oversized hammer on a target in an effort to propel an object up a pole to ring a bell at the top? Ringing the bell labeled you a powerhouse while propelling the object to a lesser level attached a label corresponding to your relative strength (such as wimp, wuss, milksop or worse). At Chilepeos, red and green chile scales label the heat of the day’s chile. The scale’s labels are wimpy, gringo, macho and muy hombre (much man).…

Albuquerque Asian Closed in 2007 Fusion Gone But Not Forgotten

California Witches – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoFebruary 12, 2005July 23, 201812:21 PM

California Witches, “where you can taste California” is the brainchild of two Korean born California transplants who happen to like witches–not the Wiccans who practice ritual observances of seasonal and life cycles or the repulsive old women credited with usually malignant supernatural powers. They assured us they don’t practice the arcane arts, but like “white” magic as practiced by television characters such as Sabrina. Our hope was that they were practitioners of culinary magic. Chef Rachel Park owns three other California Witches restaurants in Los Angeles so she and her owner cousin must be doing something right. A great start…

Albuquerque Japanese Rating: N/R (Not Rated)

Azuma Sushi & Teppan – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil GardunoFebruary 10, 2005April 6, 20264:05 AM

Unfulfilled promise, unrealized potential, what should have been, what could have been–these are among the most tragic sentiments of any vernacular. For the most part, those were also the sentiments echoing through our minds while and after we dined in one of the Duke City’s most serene and attractive Japanese restaurant settings. We should have known better. Azuma is owned by the same gentleman who owns Albuquerque’s two China Star buffets, the Sam’s Club (with apologies to the Walton family) of Chinese buffets. China Star features sprawling troughs of nearly every conceivable Chinese food item in existence at a ridiculously…

Albuquerque Closed in 2008 Gone But Not Forgotten Italian

Cafe Milano – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoDecember 24, 2004July 23, 20183:58 AM

My original introduction to this review became yet another vitriolic rage against corporate chains, a passionate spiel I added to my ratings page. What prompted that diatribe was our discovery of Cafe Milano (formerly Rosa’s Italian Kitchen), yet another wonderful mom and pop restaurant competing for hungry diners with middling chains who deign to offer food which can’t grace their mediocre menus unless it goes through rigorous usability testing (can you say human lab rats). There I go again–railing against chains when I should be on the rooftop singing the praises of Cafe Milano, a “breath of fresh air” Italian…

Albuquerque Closed in 2013 Gone But Not Forgotten Southwestern

Peppers – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoDecember 16, 2004July 23, 20182:11 AM

True to the restaurant’s name, Peppers chefs play tribute to chiles and peppers so ubiquitous to New Mexico cooking. In many of their creations, they incorporate New Mexico green and red chile, chipotle, Chimayo red chile, Habañero, Serrano, Pepperonici and red and green bell peppers (a chile icon denotes all items in which chiles or peppers are used in the preparation). Despite the often clever use of chiles and peppers, Marriot’s signature restaurant suffers from inconsistency that has kept us from patronizing this Pueblo themed restaurant more often. Among the items we’ve enjoyed most is the hot spinach and artichoke…

Albuquerque Closed in 2007 Filipino Gone But Not Forgotten

Fil-Am Fast Food Mart – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoDecember 11, 2004July 23, 20181:50 PM

The pursuit of the secret to a happy life has led people to metaphysical, psychological and religious paths. Where it really should have taken them is to a tiny Albuquerque restaurant in a nondescript shopping center where the secret to happy living is posted for one and all to see. The elusive secret consists of only six simple steps: (1) Come to Fil-Am Fast Food Mart; (2) Check out mouth watering menu; (3) Select items that appeal to your tastes; (4) Pay and leave tip; (5) Leave happy; and (6) For best results, repeat tomorrow and the day after, and…

American Burgers Closed in 2021 Gone But Not Forgotten Nevada United States

Burger Bar Las Vegas – Las Vegas, Nevada (CLOSED)

Gil GardunoNovember 23, 2004October 25, 202512:11 AM

In light of protracted enmity between America and France in recent years, you might think the notion of a French chef crafting an American institution, the hamburger, would be considered audacious at the least and heretical at the worse. True burger aficionados, however, are neither Francophiles nor Francophobes. We’re just crazy about burgers–the bigger, the better. That’s why when French chef Hubert Keller launched the Burger Bar, burger maniacs flocked to the restaurant’s sky bridge location connecting Luxor and Mandalay Bay. Keller improved on the concept of “build your own burger” by giving diners more options than Burger King ever…